I’m a moderately competent cook if I put my mind to it, in a basic kind of way. There are occasional forays into exciting gustatory treats when I have decided to do a dinner party or something. But I’m well out of practice.

This week has been a time of rediscovery for me. And what I learned is that there is often a simple beauty in preparing dishes for oneself, seeing the whole process through from start to finish, down to the last washed pan. It brings me to greater mindfulness, and in the process I eat less and probably enjoy it more. Since I’ve always been really bad at timing meals so everything comes together, hot, at roughly the same time, I discovered again that when cooking for just one this really doesn’t matter, and the enjoyment is often even greater because the meal is strung out for longer than would normally be deemed acceptable.

I could have done the easy thing and walked to one of the three take-outs, or chosen the dinner specials at any of the other places. But I didn’t. And I’m glad I didn’t.

As I understand it, several of you have taken the initiative and meet regularly to read and comment and share, which is music to my ears. Better yet is that the writing is definitely happening. Pages are being completed, and cover letters to publishers have been drafted; submissions have been sent out.

This all makes my heart swell with delight. I’d always intended the book to be about writers taking charge of their own writing lives and making it happen, so the fact that the classes have led to this point is really inspiring. Keep at it, my beloved writers. You are giving yourselves the sacred gift of your innermost riches.

Once we contact the flow, of course, we move in a different relationship to our own sense of destiny, if only because we agree to work with the universe for what it wants, rather than against it for what we want.

In terms of memoir, we may want to write what proves us right and what makes us look good. This is the ego part of the mind, trying to force an idea on the reader. When we let go of this we open up to the possibility of writing what is true, that which reaches further and deeper than our own small needs. And in that alteration, everything alters.

If you’re interested - no matter where you live - I can send you my seven golden guidelines (they’re free) so you can use my book as a starting point.

It’s about the single most important thing any of us can do, whether we have a writing partner or an entire writing group. It will keep you productive, I promise you.

Let me know if you’re interested.